#2026-W18 ### Synthetic Archive A small visual project through which I examine the nature of contemporary photography and image creation in general. Today’s image models produce outputs that are visually *generally indistinguishable* from photographs, effectively separating the medium of photography from the camera itself. I am trying to intentionally utilize this separation and *“photograph” what should not actually be physically photographable.* Phenomena that do exist but lie far beyond the reach of an ordinary lens. *Electromagnetic fields, neural activity, bioelectronic hybrids, polarization patterns invisible to the human eye. Events of impossible scale or time, such as the firing of a synapse, the trajectory of an electron, etc.* *Some of my attempts are listed below.* ![[Synthetic_Archive_1.jpg]] ![[Synthetic_Archive_2.jpg]] ![[Synthetic_Archive_3.jpg]] ![[Synthetic_Archive_4.jpg]] ![[Synthetic_Archive_5.jpg]] ![[Synthetic_Archive_6.jpg]] --- ### Promptography (?) A number of terms already refer to this issue. *Generative photography (Jäger, 1968)* historically describes parametric, rule-based image-making with a programmed photographic apparatus, originating well before the era of artificial intelligence. *Synthetic photography (Fontcuberta and others)* describes a broader category in which the subject of the photograph is entirely or partially fictional, regardless of the method used. *Post-photography (Fontcuberta, La furia de las imágenes, 2016)* frames a broader state in which the photographic image has separated from optical capture. *Promptography (Eldagsen, 2023)* addresses the nature of contemporary image models generated from a text prompt. *Eldagsen* famously *refused* the Sony World Photography Award for an AI-made image; > *“Thank you for selecting my image and making this a historic moment,” he began, “as it is the first AI-generated image to win in a prestigious international photography competition.” Going on to say, “AI images and photography should not compete with each other in an award like this. They are different entities. AI is not photography. Therefore, I will not accept the award.”* [Boris Eldagsen: The Woman Who Never Was](https://talking-pictures.online/2023/04/01/boris-eldagsen-the-woman-who-never-was/) ![[eldagsen.png]] --- ### Robot with a *spinal cord* The hexapod **Host** has been sitting on the bench for months as a body without a working nervous system. This weekend I finally got the **split-brain architecture** fully running. A **Raspberry Pi 5** handles all the slow, intelligent work *(planning, vision, autonomy, communication)* while a **Teensy 4.0** sits underneath as the real-time motor controller, talking to all 18 servos at 1 Mbaud and shifting telemetry back to the Pi at 100 Hz. It is the same architecture most legged robots eventually converge on. The brain is too distracted by its own thoughts to keep limbs in sync, so it delegates the reflexes downstream. The **RPLIDAR C1** is now mounted on its own dedicated UART, streaming at 10 Hz with around 386 measurements per scan. *Host has its first real sense of distance.* On top of that, the **foot-contact sensors** *(FSRs, one under each foot)* are finally reading correctly, so each footstep should be correctly noticed. I designed small custom feet and printed them using TPU filament; hopefully they will work reliably. I also made some adjustments to the robot’s architecture and scaled it down a bit, since it wouldn’t fit through some doors anyway. ![[host-process-table.jpg]] --- *Last week I wrote that I had created the "Polymarket Bot" betting bot. I’ve given it a slightly bigger, more personal challenge now: it has to make at least €100 in profit each month so it can cover its subscription fee. So let’s see how it does :d*